Tornadoes, Storms In Southern US Leave 43 People Dead, 7 States Declare Emergency

Severe weather, triggered by flash floods, storms and tornadoes, has claimed at least 43 lives across seven states in the U.S. since Wednesday, according to reports. The devastating storms prompted governors of Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, Missouri, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Tennessee to declare a state of emergency.

On Saturday, five people were left dead in Illinois and eight were killed in central Missouri following storm-triggered flash floods, ABC News reported. Ten people in Mississippi, six in Tennessee, two in Alabama and one in Arkansas have been killed so far in the storms, which the National Weather Service (NWS) said created nine tornadoes.

Several tornadoes in Texas claimed at least 11 lives. In Garland, a suburb of Dallas, eight people died Saturday after an EF-4 tornado hit the area, the NWS Fort Worth survey team reportedly said. Three others died in Collin County, Texas, police said, according to ABC.

Local officials in Texas said that about 1,450 houses were damaged or destroyed in storms, the Associated Press reported. Incessant rains and bad weather hindered cleanup efforts Sunday afternoon, according to the AP.

“Texas is doing everything we can to help you piece your lives back together and deal with the challenges you are facing right now," Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said Sunday, according to ABC, adding that there was a possibility of severe rain and more tornadoes.

The NWS issued severe weather advisories for most of Central America, including a blizzard warning for parts of New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma and a flash flood watch covering Texas to Indiana, Reuters reported. Bad weather conditions also reportedly led to the cancelation of about 1,500 flights in U.S. Sunday. Nearly half of those flights were in Dallas.

Meanwhile, American Airlines pledged $100,000 in donation to a Texas division of the American Red Cross to help those in the Dallas-Fort Worth affected by the tornadoes.

“American and its employees stand ready to assist in the recovery efforts and we encourage our customers to join us by donating to the Red Cross," Joe Taney, American Airlines’ vice president for Dallas-Fort Worth Hub Operations, said in a statement Sunday.